YOUR CONTINUING OBLIGATIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP57-00384R001000020101-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 16, 2000
• Sequence Number: 101
• Content Type: MISC

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OGC HAS REVIEWED.
YOUR CONTINUING OBLIGATIONS
When writing under this heading there are two approaches
which are equally valid, but perhaps not equally compelling.
.One is to point out the positive reasons for holding secret,.
matter learned in the course of your employment, namely, the
dual protection afforded yourself and the pending and future
operations of the agency which you have faithfully served; the
other is to make it abundantly clear that the recent interpre-
tation given the Espionage Act by the Supreme Court of the United
States, has put teeth in that Act which will bite and hold,,not
only the notoriously disloyal but also those who know their
obligations, yet for reasons of personal pride or gain, fail
to live up to them.
When you entered on your work for this organization, you
swore under oath that you would not disclose or reveal either
by word or by conduct any information which you might obtain
by reason of your employment by the Office of Strategic Ser-
vices, and that you would forever keep secret any information
so obtained by you.
This oath attached solemnity to a pre-existing obligation.
It reminded you, with great deliberateness, of the serious
penalties which could be invoked against you if you failed to
safeguard properly the information to which you had access and
with which you were entrusted. Without the oath you were bound
by the law of the land; with the oath, you placed an additional
prop under these obligations imposed by law - you pledged your
honor and integrity to the support of the law as a sanction
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When you volunteered your services with this organization,
you were not accepted until a thorough investigation of your
loyalty had been completed. The fact that you did work as a
member of OSS is a tribute to your loyalty. You were not found
wanting in this.essential quality during employment. It is the
purpose of this chapter to point out, with utmost clarity, your
future obligations, so that you will not, even inadvertently,
be found wanting after your employment has been faithfully ter-
minated.
There are those who will cry "Censorship" and a few who will
add "Censorship be damned", but the cold fact remains there are
things you cannot talk or write about. And you cannot talk or
write about some things because the law clearly states you cannot.
The prohibited topics are few and limited; they are of a military
nature; they relate to the national defense which the Supreme
Court has held to be a,".generic concept of broad connotations
referring to the military and naval establishments and the
related activities of national preparedness"; they are forbidden
until specific written authority has authorized disclosure or,
as the Supreme Court pointed out, until reports on these matters
are published with the authority of Congress or the military
establishments; the prohibition may last forever and does not
automatically terminate with the cessation of hostilities.
What these forbidden topics are has been clearly stated by
the Government in the recent case of Gorin v. U.S. in the follow-
ing words:
"In short, the 2pQhrase 'information connected with
AppthedNatFor ional.eDefe/nse' as -uRsed7in3trehe00 conte2xt0oi the
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Espionage Act, means, broadly, secret
or confidential information which has
its primary significance in relation
to the possible armed conflicts in which
the nation might be engaged. The pro-
tected information is readily recognizable
from the common experience and knowledge
of the average man."
The quoted passage states precisely, the need for continued
secrecy. Although all men devoutly hope this war will be the
last, it is a hope without guarantee of fulfillment. The
Supreme Court recognized the fact that allies may become enemies
with the passage of time; and that the Congress foresaw this
potentiality when it forbade disclosure, in time of war or peace,
of information related to national defense which could be used
to the advantage of and foreign government. The Supreme Court
has said that such an advantage waa anything that would allow
a foreign Government to check on the efficiency of our methods
of warAfare. Now this is precisely the information which you
must safeguard as long as disclosure has not been authorized.
OSS has developed techniquesof war0fare', physical, psychological,
logistic, etc., the value of which has been amply established.
You have been responsible for developing or executing some of
these methods. Your responsibility continues, to safeguard these
military advantages for the future of your country. What the
enemy does not know,can hurt him-now, a year from now, ten or
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The final thing to do is to spell out for you exactly what
the Espionage Act says you cannot do. This Act by its very name
seems not to have the remotest connection with you. You associate
with it, Jap admirals, disguised as ignorant fishermen or Nazi
officers in the guise of singing waiters. But it does mean-you,
as you will see. Perhaps the language does not at first appear
quite clear. Not as clear, for instance, as the language of
the English and Canadian statutes and regulations which impose
heavy fines and imprisonment on any person who discloses non-dis-
closable information, "without lawful authority to publish the
contents of any confidential document belonging. to or any confi-
dential information obtained from any governmental department or
any person in the service of His Majesty." Our language is not
so direct perhaps,as the language of the English Official Secrets
Act of 1911, which operates in peace-time as well as war-time and
which heavily punishes anyone who communicates to any unauthorized
person any information intrusted in confidence to him or obtained,
or to which a person has had access during an official assignment.
But the language of our statute is ultimately just as effective,
although it clearly safeguards against surprised innocence and the
forced restraint of innocent acts for fear of the reach of an
indefinite stebute. As one member of the Supreme Court said,
"On no construction can the statutory pro-
visions (,Espionage Ao 7 here involved become
a trap for those who act in good faith."
{
Here is a summary of the Espionage Act as interpreted by the
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1. The contitutional provisions protecting freedom
of speech and press are not violated by the Act.
2. The language of the Act is not vague - a person
can readily predetermine whether a contemplated act is criminal.
3. The federal statute LEspionage Ac L7 does not preclude
the right of a state to legislate on the subject. Violations
of the Act, therefore, might bring additional penalties under a
State Act.
4. It is enough if a person does an unauthorized act which
might conceivably be of advantage to any foreign government.
This is enough without the presence of possible injury to the
United States. There does not have to be an actual advantage
to a foreign Government or an actual injury to the United States.
5. It is not for the individual to make the judgment "Now
it can be told." It is immaterial how innocuous is the informa-
tion contained in the unauthorized disclosure. Guilt can exist
even where the value of the information is worth less than the
price of a phone call made to discuss it.
6. The Act does not become inoperative on the termination
of hostilities.
7. Vid ations of the Act are not limited to the specific
places set out in 9 31 of Title 50, U. S. C.
8. Serious collateral consequences attach to Violation
of the acts as deportation in the case of an alien, or disbeXrment
in the case of an attorney.
9. A person, to violate the act, must intend or have reason
g h e s may be used to the
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advantage of any foreign Government (even a friendly nation) or
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to the injury of the U. S. The fact that an authorized person
directs and determines that certain information shall not be
divulged has been held admissible as evidence to establish
"reason to believe". You are reminded now that such a determina-
tion has been made. Motive is different from intent. The motive
may be to magnify one's ego by revealing the importance of the
trust reposed in one or to sell at a profit to a publisher,
unique information, or it may be actually traitorous, but regard-
less of motive, intent is determinative of guilt, and it is
established that when a man deliberately does something (as
revealing information which his training or instruction have
indicated is non-disciosable until specifically authorized) he
is held to intend the natural and probabl,' consequences of his
words. This intent can be present even when the motives are
above reproach.
10. It is for a Jury to decide as a question of fact whether
or not the information revealed is related to the national de-
fense and the courts have held that the requirement of secrecy
in the public interest and for the national defense even in time
of peace, is established in the exercise of a sound discretion
by the Executive Branch of the Government and no jury could
lightly ignore, according to the courts, a certification by the
Secretary of the Navy or the Secretary of War that a disclosure
is against the national interest. This certification has been
made regarding secret and confidential matters learned in the
~a~TY
course ofwemployment and it continues until the same authority
which created the classification, directly or indirectly,
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removes the limitation attaching to the discussion or publication
of such matters. The manner in which material is de-classified
and released for publication appears elsewhere. (At page
It may help, finally, to state the law by way of the follow-
ing hypothetical examples:
Mr. I. Q. WWnde has done his work well for OSS and is
eligible for return to civilian employment. He has learned
many interesting things in the course of his employment, which
would serve to illustrate the calibre and importance of his
work, the courage and ingenuity of his associates, the efficiency
and unique contributions his agency has made to the war effort.
Mr. Elwood of Elwood, Elwood and Elwood, Publishers, also has
learned what Mr. W,lnde has learned and suggests that a conference
might prove profitable to both parties. At the conference, Mr.
Elwood bravely asserts that the press admits no muzzle and even
quotes the late Mr. Justice Brandeis to the effect that only an
emergency can justify repressions and such must be the rule, if
authority is to be reconciled with freedom. He suggests that since
Mr. Wnde has his own personal notes, no one can take them from
him and he might as well put them to use. He further suggests
a gratuitous talk before a book club which might well lead to a
contract to write a book, and would Mr. Wunke be interested.
Mr. Wunie is interested, and there is no crime in this. Mr. Wunte
moreover, agrees to the proposal, and here the trouble begins.
The discussion before the club will be limited to intelligence
d
activities, with which Mr. Wun/e modestly admits he was vitally
and intimately connected. The night before the discussion, Mr.
and he
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whittles it down until he sees himself within the terms of the
statute. The Espionage Act (50 U. S. C. 31) reads.for him like
this:.
"(A) Whoever, for the purpose of obtaining information
respecting the national defense with intent or reason
to believe thattke information to be obtained is to
be used to the injury of the United States, or to the
advantage of any foreign nation-----; (b)------copies,
takes, makes, or obtains, or attempts, or induces or
aids another to copy, take, make or obtain, any
sketch, photograph,-----map, model,-----document,
writing, or note of amything connected with the na-
tional defense; or (c) whoever, for the purpose afore-
said, receives or obtains---any document, writing----
sketch, photograph----, map,, model-----or note, of
anything connected with the national defense, knowing
or having reason to believe----that it has been or will
be obtained----or disposed of by any person contrary
to the provisions of this title; or (d) whoever, law-
fully or unlawfully having possession of, access to,
control over, or being intrusted with any document,
writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph,
------- map, model,-----or note relating to the national
defense willfully communicates or transmits or attempts
to communicate or transmit the same to any person not
entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same
and fails to deliver it on demand to the officer or
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employee of the United States entitled to redeive itt--
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shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than
ten years and may, in the discretion of the court,
be fined not more than 010,000."
Mr. Lovell is really thug now. The very mention of
disloyalty is abhorrent to him. Mr. Elwood, however, cer-
tainly did not think his proposal was disloyal. But then
any fool can see even Mr. Elwood comes under the statute.
That business about han.ng on to his personal notes makes
very little sense now. They are not his notes after all.
Whether he reveals his information) before obtaining prior
clearance, with or without remun6ration, has nothing to do
with the case.
Mr. Loyell recalls now having heard something similar to
what has been written in this chapter. He knows that he has
been told that he cemnot reveal confidential information
learned in the course of employment and that this will prove
"reason to believe" under the statute. He knows all the other
things too --what "advantage to any foreign government"
really means and what "related to the national defense" really
means.
The above example is only one instance of how the Espionage
Act can be violated. We choose that illustration because it
should warn the innocent and the loyal of their obligations.
The treacherous we feel do not merit such a warning.
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